This invention relates generally to lawn mowers, and more particularly to such mowers that differ from conventional lawn mowers in being free from any significant hazards to their operators.
In general, there are two types of lawn mowers, the reel-type and the rotary-type The reel-type mower has a transverse cutting bar at an adjusted cutting height and a cutter assembly in the form of a reel with peripheral blade elements that cooperate with the cutting bar in a scissor-like cutting operation. Inadvertent intrusion into the cutting zone of the operating cutting reel by a part of one's body can result in serious physical injury. Moreover, if the lawn mower encounters a foreign object such as, for example, a piece of wire, it can go out of control and injure the operator or a bystander.
The rotary-like mower employs a cutting blade that rotates at high speed in a horizontal plane at a selected mowing height. Although the rotating blade is normally enclosed by a shroud, injuries can result if it encounters an obstacle that causes the mower to jump or tilt. Should any part of a person's body come in contact with the rotating blade of such a mower, serious injury can result. Furthermore, objects are sometimes propelled from under the mower by the fast turning blade which can sever injure anyone struck by such an object.
From the foregoing, it is apparent that lawn mowers of presently conventional types are inherently dangerous and account for many serious injuries. Such injuries could be avoided by a lawn mower that operates in such fashion as to foreclose the potentially dangerous situations created by such conventional mowers.